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The Department of Education made a last minute announcement regarding tuition exams that caused chaos in schools across the country. City Press reports.
On Monday last week, the department said high-temperature enrollment students would be allowed to take their final exams at school, as long as they were isolated.
However, on Wednesday night, hours before the first matriculation test began, the department released a statement announcing that students with COVID-19 could also write in different places.
The department told City Press that these different locations referred to the isolation rooms that were supposed to be installed in every school in the country.
Teachers unions criticized the late decision, stating that no logistical arrangements had been made to accommodate this announcement, and many were also concerned about the health of teachers who would be required to monitor these COVID-19 tests.
“No logistical arrangements have been made. Education cannot be governed through press releases, we need official arrangements, ”said the Naptosa teachers union.
Who is going to supervise these exams? Certainly not our members. “
Each provincial government and each school reportedly interpreted the department’s tuition test announcement differently, leading to confusion on the morning of the first exams last week.
Many students with COVID-19 were affected by the decision and some were reportedly unable to write or were sent to the wrong places.
The department later apologized to the unions for not following proper procedures before making the announcement.
Worrisome trend in math
South Africa’s education system is already suffering despite the additional pressure placed on schools due to COVID-19.
In recent years, the number of students enrolled in mathematics has decreased significantly, with an increasing number of matrices opting for mathematical literacy or technical mathematics.
These subjects are easier than what is now called “pure mathematics,” but matrices that choose mathematics instead of mathematics will not be able to study engineering, science, IT, or related fields in college.
Figures from last year show that of the 787,717 students who wrote tuition exams, only 222,034 (28%) wrote math. Of those who wrote, 45% did not achieve a passing grade higher than 30%.
The Basic Education Portfolio Committee recently raised concerns on the drop in the number of students who have enrolled in math.
“It seems our students are running away from this,” said committee chairman Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba. “However, then it becomes difficult when they want to register for certain programs at higher education institutions.”
The most recent data shows that only 245,005 enrollment students were enrolled in math for the 2020 exams, more than 11,000 fewer than in 2019.
On the other hand, the number of enrollment in math literacy increased from 349,338 in 2019 to 358,883 in 2020, an increase of more than 9,000.
The number of students writing math has continued to decline each year and the pass rate has dropped to just 54%.
The number of students who were enrolled in Math and Math Literacy for the past four years is shown in the graph below.
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